Rediscovering My Treasure

Job change leads me to consider the treasure of the Lord in me.

Photo by Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash

So far, the theme and verse I assigned to each month back in December have been perfect — exactly what I needed. This month was no exception! Satan has attacked me with my own shortcomings, especially regarding my job situation, for most of this year. I looked at my circumstances and what I accomplished, and heard the accusations from the devil that I have not done well enough. 

It’s been a tough year — I had to deal with things I did not have to deal with before, including challenging student behaviors, planning issues, and other pressures of my teaching job. 

I’ve been offered a contract for next year, but it’s part-time, contracted work instead of a full-time teaching position. I’ll be making about half of what I made before with no benefits, plus I have to do my own taxes, drive to four locations, and provide my own materials outside of normal teaching supplies.

Fortunately, last month’s verse still echoes in my head: 

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:19

God has always provided for our financial needs. He has proven faithful in that area.

Truth and Treasure

So, as I face the job change, I have to face the truths of the situation: 1. I am going by faith financially (and God has always provided). 2. I will not have the stress and anxieties I faced this past year from my current position. 3. I will have to find something new, which means overcoming my insecurities regarding job applications to see how God will work and what He will provide. 4. I have to rest in the Lord (previous Word of the Year) and remember the treasure of the Lord in me (my current Word).

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:7

What I have to remember is I am the Lord’s and, because of that, the treasure is in me. He has filled me with treasure — Himself — and I am not a failure as such. In fact, He might consider it an affront that I call myself that.

Our bodies are vessels for His power. They are delicate and breakable, but the power is God’s. He is doing the work on both the inside and outside of our bodies and our lives.

Personal Pursuit of Treasure

When I showed Joel my new contract, he said, “Praise the Lord, God is doing something.” We know He is doing something because I know I’ve given my life to Him, and His treasure is in me. He freed up time in my schedule, blessed me with flexibility, and now the only problem is our finances.

“Riches you hold in your hands are inferior to treasures you store in your heart.” ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

God has always provided for us in the past, but also, God’s treasure that my “earthen vessel” holds is so much more important than money.

One thing I realized recently is that I seldom bring the Lord into my work at this job. It’s a private school, and they have made it clear that they are not religiously affiliated. I’ve taken the attitude that I can’t talk about the Lord to the students unless they bring it up or I know they believe in God. Because of this, my focus is only on the job while I am teaching. So much so, that when I had a problem with a student, and a fellow Christian asked if I prayed in that moment, my answer was, “No.”

The Lord is my treasure. He should be in every part of my life. He knows that this year has not been great and sees my need for more of Him. It makes sense that He would change my job for me, knowing that I would have likely kept going for financial reasons.

Trade Failure for Treasure

So the next step is to find something new. I believe that God has something for me. But in searching for it, I have to stop thinking of what I consider my failures over the past years, and remind myself that God’s treasure is in me.

“Man is the jewel of God, who has created this material world to keep his treasure in. ~Theodore Parker

Everything in this world was created by God, including me. I might have made some bad choices in life, but God didn’t create me to be defined by those choices. Rather, He designed me to be defined by Himself. As a child of God, He is continuing to mold and make me to be like Christ. There will be growth that happens as the fire refines me, and I have to trust in that process. I have to trust that the Lord knows my needs better than I do. I have to trust that who I am is who He made me to be — someone within whom is God’s treasure. I cannot look at outside circumstances, criticisms, or even my own feelings to determine reasons why I am a failure. None of that takes away from God in me and His work in my life.

Dig Deeper for Treasure

“When you dig deep within yourself, you may dig up treasure.” ~Tamerlan Kuzgov

Sometimes we need to dig deep. We need to dig deep because on the surface, we see what this world shows us instead of what God is trying to show us. We need to stop looking at what we see in ourselves and what others criticize in us and focus on what God sees — treasure.

Do you have God’s treasure in you? If you have accepted Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross for your sin and asked Him to save you, you do! Next question, do you understand its value? God looks at you and sees treasure! Your life to Him is treasure! Cast off the criticisms of both others and yourself, and remind yourself that you are valuable treasure.

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